Security systems are widely used in industrial, commercial, residential and other areas where security and safekeeping of material effects, computer software, company trade secrets and the like are required. Due to demands in this area, a variety of security systems have been developed, each particularly adapted to one or more of the above uses. For the industrial and commercial installations, significant sums of money may be spent on security systems which are operated by trained, experienced personnel. Many systems are available for this market. However, such systems are not readily usable in the household area because of their cost, complexity of installation and the lack of trained personnel in the normal household to run the security system.
Many attempts have been made to modify industrial style systems to provide for security in the home. However, these systems have failed commercially either because they are too expensive or the householder is not able to operate them. There remains, however, a significant demand for a security system which may be used in the home and which can monitor a variety of situations, yet can be readily operated by the householder.
Usually home security systems, which are to be installed by the home owner, include very extensive complex manuals which the householder must read and thoroughly understand before installing the system. Normally householders are reluctant to take the time to understand all aspects of the operation of the system before installation, resulting in frustration and eventually lack of interest in installing the system. Some attempts have been made to provide voice interactive systems which communicate with the user regarding the operation of the security system. This idea was contemplated in Lemelson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,978, regarding speech synthesis to verbally indicate or warn a person of a possible intrusion or fire in the monitored premises The speech synthesis is responsive either to signals generated by sensors or by computers or microprocessors receiving signals from one or more of the sensors, such as of fire or intrusion. In accordance with the characteristic of the signal received, the speech synthesizer produces an announcement indicative of the conditions sensed and, in some circumstances, the location of the condition is also announced. Announcing the type of alarm avoids the person monitoring the condition having to read and interpret a monitored display or light panel.
Speech synthesis is becoming a more common form of machine communication with operators. Speech synthesis has been used in fields outside of the security area. As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,269, speech synthesis has many applications as an electronic calculator, time pieces, vending machines and automobiles. If communication is based on a one-way delivery, such as upon a detected condition, the speech synthesizer is actuated to make an announcement indicating the problem or condition. For example, speech synthesis is used in photocopiers as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,329. In response to detected conditions, a speech synthesizer is actuated to produce a phrase alerting the user that toner, paper or the like are to be added to the machine, or that a paper jam is to be cleared. Again, the system functions on the basis of detecting a condition and then making an announcement as to what has to be done to rectify the problem. Another form of "talking" photocopy machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,971. Again, the system includes a speech synthesizer which guides the user in start-up and use of the machine. Depending upon where in the start-up procedure the user is at, a particular announcement is made instructing the user as to the next step. In addition, this system includes other detection which may be announced such as requirement for paper or toner.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,543 discloses an industrial dishwasher which is provided with a speech synthesizer to communicate with the user. The system detects various faults, such as low water temperature, absence of drying agent, absence of detergent and the like. Speech synthesizers are actuated to advise the user of a fault. The user can then correct the fault and resume other tasks. The speech synthesizer is also equipped to explain step-by-step, how to start up and shut down the dishwasher.
All of these systems are preloaded with the necessary information to permit the speech synthesizer to communicate with the user. There is little, if any, interaction with the user for the purpose of correcting faults in the system as they are announced or instructions as to what may be done after the faults are corrected. There is some interaction with the user in the speech synthesis system of the electronic photocopying machine of U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,971; however, it is very limited. None of these systems contemplate a user customized program with data entry and programming error correction. This becomes a significant consideration in the security field which has not been addressed in the past.
According to this invention, a system is provided to address this problem in an economical, expeditious way. It provides a home security system which interacts with the householder during installation and use to greatly facilitate its operation and ensure integrity of the system operation.